Image courtesy of the New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots will probably need more help at linebacker or defensive end this weekend in New Orleans.

Don’t be surprised to see Truman Jones getting one of the first opportunities.

Primarily a special teams player so far, Jones drew high praise from Mike Vrabel when Vrabel was asked about him during his press conference with the media on Friday.

“I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I would say that Truman’s close to the list if I had one,” said Vrabel. “He’s an extremely hard worker. I would say that every time we have a show player of the week on offense or special teams, I would say he’s probably been one of those two, if not both throughout the year.

“He’s done a nice job. He prepares as a starter each and every week. I just think he’s continuing to develop and we’d be comfortable if we had to play him.”

Upon hearing that, Jones’ eyes lit up at his locker and a big smile came across his face.

“That’s just an honor,” Jones said. “An extreme reward. I have a lot of respect for Vrabel, having played the position, having played for the Patriots and the historic program and legacy he has here. Just happy to be someone he thinks highly of.”

Coming from a program like Harvard with a legendary disciplinarian like Tim Murphy, Jones has embraced the coaching style that Vrabel uses.

“He’s just so consistent,” said Jones. “That’s something I’ve really appreciated…his energy is contagious. He shows up with enthusiasm, but also just a seriousness and love for the game. He takes every snap seriously. He’s coaching everyone from the scout team to the offense, defense, special teams…just so hands on, so involved everywhere. He’s making the whole team better with that.”

Jones has been in the NFL for a few years now between Kansas City and New England, but having a full offseason here and now sticking around with the team through OTAs, training camp and these first handful of games, Jones is growing more and more comfortable with the defense by the day, which is why he could be a reliable piece of the puzzle.

“Very comfortable,” he said when asked just how comfortable he is with everything. “Being here through this offseason, working in preseason a lot and I just appreciate the older guys I have in the room. KC (K’Lavon Chaisson) and Harold (Landry) and even (Christian) Ponder, just talking to him, seeing what he sees out there. We just all go through the same preparation together and I’m in the meetings every week, so, every week I’m taking the same mental notes, mental reps.”

When asked to elaborate a bit more on that mental process preparing as if he was a starter, Jones touched on how it goes on a week-to-week basis.

“Starting with Monday, Tuesday, really just getting a feel of the team, watching a couple games through and then really sorting through the types of plays they run,” he explained. “Getting a sense of their offense, then really looking at their tackles, how they set, how they protect, seeing if there’s any tells you can pick up on.

“Throughout the week, just continuing to grind the scene, grind the scheme and grind the scheme. Making sure that I can apply the scheme to whatever formation comes out and is available. I think it’s something a coach told me early on…you may not get the physical rep, but you’re still expected to have gotten the mental rep to be able to recognize it and react to it the right way. I just try and do that every week.”

Jones also noted that being in Kansas City before coming to New England allowed him a different perspective on how to prepare.

“Yeah, it’s honestly the beauty of the scout team, that every week you’re faced with a new challenge and learning a new opponent and trying to mimic them as best as possible,” he said. “Through that, you develop a skillset and become flexible, become…just multiple. So, also, being in Kansas City before that just gives you a different sense, a different flavor. You can bring some components of that here as well as add things to that now.”

The relationship between Vrabel and Jones has grown rather quickly and it’s one that Jones genuinely appreciates.

“I see it as kind of a work relationship, but at the same time, just a lot of respect for each other,” Jones added. “I really appreciate the work that goes in. We try to keep it fairly non-personal, but as we’re in here and just seeing how hard we approach the game, how we study it…just a lot of overall respect.

“Whatever I’m doing, I have to keep doing it.”

Whatever Jones is doing, it’s because the ‘scout team guy’ label still follows him and that label provides a nice big chip on his broad shoulders.

“Yeah. Every day,” Jones said. “It’s this fine line between being grateful to be here and being in the locker room at all, but also looking for the next step and looking for the next thing. So, just take every day as an opportunity to prove yourself again. I take it on myself to continue to improve when situations like this happen. Maybe you’re thrown into a situation.”

That next ‘situation’ for Jones could be some legitimate run in the Super Dome this weekend.

But for now, Jones was going to go home and enjoy watching his former Crimson host Cornell on national TV Friday night.